One of the biggest question marks popping up for next month’s crop of new releases is attached to the Kimberley Peirce-directed remake of Brian de Palma’s classic horror flick Carrie. So far, marketing for the film, which stars Chloë Grace Moretz as the tormented young telepath, has struck an uneasy balance between high school drama, supernatural thriller and flat-out horror, and I’m curious to see whether audiences will respond well to that mix.
Now, we’ve got a TV spot entitled ‘Power,’ which shows flashes of Carrie’s appalling home life and the infamous Black Prom incident.
Check out the freaky teaser below:
We’ve also got a host of new images for you, which (somewhat oddly) focus on portraying Carrie as a seemingly ordinary high school girl. The only truly scary photo in the bunch is one of Moretz and her on-screen mother, Julianne Moore, who isn’t looking like her normally radiant self, to put it nicely.
The 1976 film was a surprising success, grossing $33.8 million on a budget of $1.8 million, mostly due to great word of mouth. However, surely some of the original Carrie‘s box office earnings can be attributed to the fact that it only came out two years after Stephen King’s well-received novel. Additionally, it hit theaters in the mid-’70s, when horror films were flourishing at the box office (see: The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). So by no means is the remake a lock for commercial success in today’s drastically different market.
However, MGM and Screen Gems have certainly positioned Carrie to appeal to horror fans, moving it from March 15th to the fright-friendly release date of October 18th. What’s most likely to send Carrie to the top of the box office is the simple lack of competition around that date – there’s no Paranormal Activity installment this year, and the only other horror film around is The Devil’s Rapture, a Jennifer Carpenter-starring fright flick with shockingly little buzz so far.
Although Moretz isn’t a bonafide box-office draw by herself as of yet, the only reason I’ll be standing in line for Carrie this October will be to see what the unbelievably talented young actress can do with such a meaty role. And as horror fans know, where Carrie is concerned, one thing’s for certain – there will be blood.
Will you go see Carrie? And if so, what’s the draw – Moretz, Moore or the promise of ample thrills and chills? Let us know in the comments section.
Carrie opens wide on October 18th.